Ben Saunders remembers the advertisements for the first Ultimate Fighting Championship in 1993. The fledgling sport instantly attracted him and he asked his father to purchase the event on pay-per-view.

During the initial broadcast, Saunders was hooked. He wanted to be a part of the promotion.

“It was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen,” Saunders said. It actually scared the crap out of me when I was watching it. By the end of that event, I was in love with it.”

A few years later, Saunders convinced his father to let him enroll in Jeet Kune Do and got a job at McDonalds to pay for the classes. Saunders, who grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., learned various MMA moves through television, magazines, books and the internet. By the time he finished high school, Saunders was ready to embark on a career in mixed martial arts.

“I graduated and met Din Thomas on line,” said Saunders, who turns 29 in April. “He said, `Come out to Orlando.’ I convinced my parents I was going to go to Orlando to go to college. That was not the case. That’s what I was going to do as a decoy. I was fighting full-time. I tried to convince them, `Hey, this is my college. Every time I go out here, I learn something.’ It was what I wanted to do for a living.”

Within three years, Saunders made his professional debut. After he went 4-0-2 in his first six fights, Saunders was offered a chance to compete on The Ultimate Fighter and fulfill his childhood dream of participating in the UFC.

Even though he did not win the show, Saunders fought seven times in the UFC and was 4-3. After his last two losses – to Jon Fitch and Dennis Hallman – Saunders was released from the company. Less than a year later, he signed with Bellator Fighting Championships.

Saunders, 12-4-2, won his debut at a catchweight in April, then dispatched Chris Cisneros and Luis Santos in the season five welterweight tournament. Saunders was defeated by Douglas Lima in the tournament finale in November.

On Friday, Saunders can begin his latest quest toward a championship when he faces Raul Amaya in the quarterfinals of the season six welterweight tournament during Bellator 63. The event, held at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, will air live on MTV2 and EPIX at 8 p.m. EST and on tape delay at 8 p.m. PST.

“I knew what I did right and what I did wrong throughout my career in my wins and my losses,” Saunders said. “It was all a learning experience and I took it as that. I tried to stay positive and work on my weaknesses. It was a bit difficult because at a very young age, my goal was to be a UFC champion. I just knew I want that belt. I want that title. I want to fight for the UFC. Things happen in life. It is what it is. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem like it’s going to be in my near future, but I’m very happy with Bellator.”

Preliminary bouts, which will be announced later this week, can be seen live on spike.com at 5 p.m. PST.

Four months after their original bout was declared a no contest because of a groin kick by Thiago Santos, Eric Prindle was named the winner of Bellator’s season five heavyweight tournament.

Prindle won by forfeit after Santos weighed in 12 pounds over the limit last Thursday. During the Bellator 62 telecast, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said Prindle could fight heavyweight champion Cole Konrad within the next three or four weeks.

For fans that cannot get enough of The Ultimate Fighter, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will air the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter – Brasil” on TUF.tv. The series premiered Sunday, and new episodes will be available each week at midnight 9 p.m. PST.

UFC veterans Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort will serve as coaches.

This week’s fight on The Ultimate Fighter live will match Myles Jury against Al Iaquinta. TUF can be seen live every Friday at 7 p.m. PST on FX.

Former UFC fighter Anthony Johnson, who was released from his contract earlier this year, will fight fellow UFC veteran David Branch in the main event of Titan 22 on May 25 at the Memorial Hall in Kansas City. The event will be televised live on HDNet.

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